A number of motors and other electromagnetic devices have utilized permanent magnets together with electromagnets combined in a fashion to provide output rotary power. However, various problems have been encountered such as the moving contact problem when an electromagnet on a rotor must be supplied with appropriate amounts of current. The major difficulty in all such devices prior to the present invention, however, has been that of efficiency; that is, a relatively large amount of electrical power input was required to produce a given amount of rotary power or torque.